*All characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 1

Off The Island

 

                "Hurry up Don!!!!"  James shouted behind him.  Why was Don so slow sometimes?  If he would just NOT bring Johnny with them, that pack wouldn't have to come, "Christina's waiting!!!!"  He shot ahead, eager to see this girl.  She had called earlier and said she had a surprise for him!

 

                Don heaved.  He could fly this long, but with James being so hyper it was hard to keep up.  He needed a nice, long glide to get his strength back.  Unfortunately, with the way James kept zooming ahead, Don didn't think he'd get that chance, "James!..Wait...Wait up!"  He shouted, panting.  James was as active as a little kid!

 

                James snorted and looked back at Don.  He was trailing pretty far behind now.  He gave Don a bored stare and became a giant, grabbed Don, and kept flying.  This'd be faster anyway.

 

                "And?"

                "Griffin's doing better than we had first thought.  He should be ready to infiltrate your island soon."

                "I still want some proof that he can perform as you've promised."

                "Any suggestions?"

                There was a short laugh on the other end of the call, "Plenty.  The EASIEST of those would be someone on his way to you right now."

                "There's another coming?!"  He half-shouted.  This was great news!  More experiments were ALWAYS welcome!

                "Him and another.  On the island is a large dragon known as James Elias.  He has a friend near where you're calling from, and most of the time he brings someone along with him.  He's big for the dragons on this island.  Very strong."

                "So's Griffin.  When will they be here?"

                "He comes every now and then; however, I've been monitering him for some time and he got a call from his friend not long ago.  If he isn't on his way there, then he IS there.  Start watching for him."

                "Very well.  We'll give you a full report, pictures and all, of Griffin's victory."  With that, he hung up.  Griffin would be waiting.

 

                They flew high up...James had to have a bit of extra room for his wings.  Don watched the ground calmly, but still felt a little out of place being so high.  He didn't WANT to do this.  Last time had gone well enough, but he always felt uneasy around humans...and THAT was because of his "incident" involving them, himself, and a micro chip that still pained him now and then.  Almost too soon, James began his descent.  When they were too low for him to keep flying in his huge form, he let go of Don and shrank back to normal.  Christina was shouting and waving from a tree.  James dove first, followed by a much more hesitant Posidon.  When they were on firm ground again, Christina took them to her house.

 

                Griffin attempted a smile when the door opened.  As usual, his father was in no mood to be pleasent.  He was blunt; also very normal, "So Griffin, were those the only questions you had on your mind?"

                "The only ones I'd like answered, yes..."

                "Good.  I'll answer them in the order they were asked.  First, you were created to do some great things.  Sec--"

                "But WHAT things?  I do as I'm told, but nothing ever happens!  Every day it's the same!  Train, eat, sleep.  What great things am I supposed to be here for?"

                His father eyed him.  Griffin lowered his head in apology.  He shouldn't have interrupted.  After a moment of silence, his father continued, "SECOND, you're existence was made for the benefit of you, me, and many others who have asked not to be mentioned."

                Griffin didn't say anything.  What benefit was there for him?  He STILL wasn't getting the answers he'd wanted.

                "And third,"  His father continued, "you came from a series of testing that had failed time and again.  You, so far, are the epitome of all our efforts in SAE."

                And that was a good thing?  Griffin was still so confused, "But Father, I have never been allowed to do anything other than what you assign.  When may I make MY own choices?  Why must I always continue training?  What is my purpose?.."

                His father patted him on the shoulder, "You'll see.  Actually, in a few days, once your new vision is finished, you'll be allowed out at night for your first essential mission."

                "Really?"  This was exciting news!  A chance to SEE something other than pictures!  His place, his routine, never took him past windows.  He hadn't seen much of the outside.  The best had been the skylight in his weight room.  It allowed him to view the sky, but that was it.  Now and then, when he wasn't able to use his training equipment, he would be given a book, then be told to start learning what they taught in it.  Griffin knew twelve fighting styles, and had mastered three, nearly four.  He stood up, thanking his father over and over again for this chance, "I won't let you down Father!  THANK YOU!"  He shouted and ran out as soon as the door opened.  He shot straight to his excercising room, where he promptly started riding a stationary bike and reading up more on jiujitsu.  The news had given him energy he didn't know he'd posessed, which he put to use as best he could.  He needed to spend it if he had it.  That was also a rule in this home of his.  Griffin reached out to turn the page, but his forehead started vibrating again.  He angrily scratched at the spot, but the sensation didn't leave.  His micro chip always acted this way for some reason.  Most of the time he could ignore it, but other times, like now, it bugged him almost as much as those questions he could never get answered from his father.

 

                "Subject Griffin is remaining stable, Sir."

                "Really?  He hasn't malfunctioned at all?"

                "His micro chip is still in perfect working order, and all his bodily functions are responding normally.  He's a success so far, Sir."  The man at the readouts smiled proudly.  This would be the sixth attempt at creating a duplicate of that speciman they'd had.  If it continued to keep this perfect health, then they would have fianlly done it!  All of his immunities had been taken care of at his "birth" but, like the others, he had reacted violently to the treatments.  This was the very first subject to take each treatment and LIVE through them all.  They were in the clear.  All they had to do was see how well he handled on the terrain.  His virtual training should have said he was ready, but the real thing often was much different from the simulations.

                He grinned as well.  This would mean he could charge full price for the use of his creation.  Beremin rubbed his hands together, already thinking of the major countries he could threaten, or save, with an army of his "son."

 

                Don called a new number, "Kia?  Tell me again.  What do I do if James starts acting like an animal?"

                She laughed, "Be nice!  He IS big, remember!  Mostly you just let him get it out of his system.  He'll be doing that a lot more since he can't have his medicine."

                "How MUCH more?"

                "Well, that depends on how long you're staying."

                "Um...a week at most..."

                She guffawed, "He's only got enough medicine to last for the rest of today!  Tomorrow was supposed to be the next dose!  If he didn't think to bring that, you'll be with the animal part of him more than JAMES!"

                "What if he brought it?"

                "Then he'll be James for three days...if you're lucky."  She hung up.

                Don didn't feel much better.  He felt worse knowing that he'd have to put up with the animal for a MINIMUM of four days.

                And, speaking of the devil, here came James now, bounding up on all fours and bowling Don over.  Don hit the ground hard, knocking the phone from his hand.  James kept going..."James WAIT!"  ...too late.  A moment later there was a loud crunch.  James didn't even seem to notice.  He kept right on running.  Don walked over, found his cell phone broken in two.  He sighed unhappily and held onto it so he could throw it away later.

 

                Christina rumaged around her room, looking for the gift she had for her draconic friend.  David poked his head through the door, "Looking for something?"

                "Yeah...have you seen James' present?  I can't find it!"  She shoved another pile of stuff out of the way while she searched.

                David chuckled, "You know, if you didn't leave stuff laying around like this you'd porbably be able to find it easily."

                "But I left it in plain sight!  Where could it go?!"  AHA!  There it was, "Nevermind...I found it."  She picked up the small giftwrapped package and started calling for James.  He bounded toward her, looking for all the world like a big dog.  She laughed and held up the package.  James slid to a stop, standing in a squat position with his hands up, like a dog begging.  He was even panting with his tongue hanging out!  With a giggle, she placed it in his hands, "Did you take your medicine James?"  She asked teasingly.  James didn't answer.  He lurched foward and licked, slobbering all over.  She laughed and pushed him back up so she could scratch his tongue.

                Finally, James changed back to himself, "Woah..."  He held his head and fell back, looking a little dizzy, "I think I've been chasing my tail again..."  He shook his head to clear it, just then noticing the package in his hands, "So...what is it?"

                She laughed, "Open it and find out!!..Hi DON!!"

                Don looked up and waved, giving her a small smile.  Why didn't he ever want to be friendly?  Oh, he was polite enough, but he always kept his distance whenever he could.  It always seemed like there was no one who could ever get close to him.

                David awakwardly patted James.  His fear of James and Don usually made him stay inside, away from them, but Christina had managed to get him to come out.  Upon feeling his hand, James became an animal all over again and leaned into David's hand.